埃隆马斯克超回路列车 梦想迈向现实

Elon Musk’s dream of ultra-high speed travel through a tube came a small step closer to reality on Tuesday, when one of the companies set up to pursue the idea announced it had raised another $80m and said it was ready to show off a key part of the technology.

周二，埃隆•马斯克(Elon Musk)通过隧道实现超高速旅行的梦想距离现实近了一小步。为了追逐这一想法而设立的公司之一宣布，已再次融资8000万美元，并表示已准备展示该技术的一个关键部分。

Mr Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, stirred a wave of interest in 2013 in a technology known as hyperloop — a tube from which air is pumped out to maintain a near-vacuum, theoretically making it possible for pods carrying people or freight to move at close to the speed of sound.

2013年，特斯拉(Tesla Motors)和SpaceX的首席执行官马斯克调动起了人们对于“超回路列车”(Hyperloop)技术的兴趣。该技术涉及把一条隧道中的空气抽出来，保持近真空状态，在理论上可能让装载人员或货物的短舱以近音速移动。

The idea was floated as a potential alternative to California’s plans for a high-speed rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Coming from an entrepreneur who has come to be seen in some tech circles as a visionary, it attracted enough attention to trigger a race among start-ups trying to prove the technology is in fact practical.

这个想法的提出，是作为加州在旧金山和洛杉矶之间修建高速铁路线路的可能替代方案。由于源自一名在某些科技圈里被视为拥有远见卓识的一名企业家，这个想法吸引了足够的注意力，在试图证明该技术事实上具有实用性的创业企业中引发了一场竞赛。

Hyperloop Technologies, the company furthest along with its plans, said on Tuesday it had raised $80m in a second round, taking the total so far to more than $100m, with the backing of investors including GE Ventures, a unit of General Electric, and SNCF, the French national railway.

周二，在执行自己计划上走得最远的公司Hyperloop Technologies表示，已获得了8000万美元的第二轮融资，目前总融资额超过1亿美元，资金投入方包括通用电气(GE)旗下部门GE Ventures和法国国家铁路公司(SNCF)。

It also said it would show off the propulsion system for its planned hyperloop on Wednesday on a section of exposed track near Las Vegas, and planned to have a full-scale, three kilometre trial operating in a tube before the end of the year.

该公司也表示，将于周三在拉斯维加斯附近的一段暴露铁轨上展出用于其计划超回路列车上的推进系统，并打算于今年年底前在一条隧道内进行原尺寸模型的3公里试运营。

“The idea that was a glimmer in the eye of Elon Musk in 2013 will be a full-scale prototype by the end of 2016,” said Rob Lloyd, chief executive officer. “When we demonstrate the prototype, everyone will realise we can solve problems of urban congestion — we can free up land, redefine cities. It’s a big deal.”

“原是2013年埃隆•马斯克眼中一线微光的这个想法，到2016年底将变成一个全尺寸原型机，”Hyperloop Technologies首席执行官罗布•劳埃德(Rob Lloyd)说。“当我们展示原型机时，所有人都将意识到，我们能够解决城市拥堵问题——我们能够解放土地，重新定义城市。那是一件了不起的事。”

Supporters of the hyperloop concept, including Mr Musk, maintain that the technologies needed to make it work have all been proven, and that the real challenges that need to be overcome involve business model and financing.

包括马斯克在内，超回路列车概念支持者们坚称，把超回路列车投入使用的各项技术都已成熟，需要克服的真正挑战在于商业模式和融资。

Hyperloop Technologies — which on Tuesday said it was changing its name to Hyperloop One — said it was working with a number of construction and transport partners around the world to study the feasibility of individual projects, and that it expected to see a wave of interest from cities and other government bodies once it had showed off a working system.

周二，Hyperloop Technologies表示公司将更名为Hyperloop One。该公司表示，正与世界各地大量的建筑业和交通业伙伴合作，研究具体项目的可行性，同时预计，一旦展出一个可运行系统之后，会引起各个城市和其他政府部门的浓厚兴趣。

Given the huge capital investment, long-distance connections between cities — the kinds of project promoted by people like Mr Musk, given the high speeds they could theoretically reach — are unlikely to see the first attempted use of the technology.

鉴于巨大的资本投资，城市之间的远距离联接——马斯克等人依据理论上可达到的高速度而推广的那类项目——不大可能第一次尝试使用该技术。

Instead, Mr Lloyd said that connecting container ports with nearby transport hubs presented an attractive potential use, since it could free up storage space in ports and take traffic off surrounding streets. That would not require the high speeds theoretically possible in hyperloops, but would still be better than building new rail links since the systems would operate far more quietly and not raise local opposition, he added.

相反，劳埃德表示，把集装箱港口跟附近的交通中心联接起来，是一个有吸引力的潜在用途，因为这能够释放港口的存储空间，减少周围街道的交通流量。他补充道，那将不需要超回路列车达到理论上可能的高速度，但仍将比建造新的铁路连线更好，因为系统运行的声音要小得多，不会引起当地的反对。

Hyperloop One is also aiming to carry freight rather than passengers to get around regulatory concerns about safety, but said it hopes to extend to moving people once the technology is proven.

为了绕过监管层对于安全的担忧，Hyperloop One也计划装载货物而不是乘客，但表示，其希望在技术成熟时开始运载人员。

Meanwhile, another start-up hoping to build a prototype system, Hyperloop Transport Technologies, this week announced the technology for its own propulsion system, based on using powerful magnets to levitate pods above the floor of its tube.

同时，另一家希望建造一个原型系统的创业企业Hyperloop Transport Technologies(HTT)本周宣布了用于其自己推进系统的技术——需要使用强力磁体使短舱漂浮在其隧道平面的上空。